The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) clarified on Friday that it has not asked the Assam government to take action against four editors of the state opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
Reports stated that the MHA termed the allegations as “baseless” and “a mischievous interpretation of facts”.
“No enquiry of any kind has been ordered by the ministry,” the MHA affirmed.
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Earlier, it was all over the media that the Assam government was directed by the MHA to “take necessary action” against the four editors based on a public grievance petition.
The petition filed by Vinay Joshi had alleged that different insurgent groups like ULFA has “exploited” the Citizenship Bill issue and a section of the media has propagated the militant ideology.
“It has been reported in a section of the media that MHA has asked the Assam government to take action against editors opposed to the Citizenship Bill. This is an absolutely baseless and a mischievous interpretation of facts,” the ministry clarified.
The ministry further clarified that the petition filed by Joshi was forwarded to the Assam government as part of a “routine procedure”.
“We receive a large number of similar petitions/grievances daily, which are routinely forwarded to the concerned ministries and states. The petition filed by Joshi was also forwarded to the concerned State as part of the procedure.”